The Espionage Antics of James Potter and Fred Weasley
by PenguinBuddy
Summary: "Is this going to become a habit of yours? Planning espionage missions to the library to spy on Eva?" Companion oneshot to "Game On."


Disclaimer: The characters are the property of the amazingly talented J.K Rowling. I'm only borrowing the characters and world that she has so brilliantly created.

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 _ **The Espionage Antics of James Potter and Fred Weasley**_

 _A companion oneshot to Game On_

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It was a quiet evening in the Hogwarts library. Hushed voices and the scratching of quills against parchment were the only sounds audible. At the many tables situated between aisles and aisles of books, students sat alone or in groups studying for exams and writing papers.

At one such table sat two teenagers, a girl and a boy. The girl had bright blue eyes and light brown hair that reached to her shoulder blades. Her Gryffindor tie had been loosened and her sleeves were rolled up. The accompanying boy, however, wore his Hufflepuff tie smartly done up. His own light brown hair was neatly trimmed and his green eyes were hidden behind stylish glasses. A Head Boy badge gleamed on his chest.

Open Herbology books and notes written on parchment rested on the table before them. At one point, the boy raised his head and said something to the girl that caused a blush to rise to her cheeks. Altogether, it was a rather idyllic scene.

James Potter hated it.

What could Eva Wood _possibly_ see in Jonathan Grant? _What?_

"Remind me again — what exactly are we doing lurking in the library?"

James looked over at his cousin and best friend, Fred. Both of the boys were crouched behind bookshelves two rows back that separated them from Eva and Jonathan's table. The invisibility cloak that technically belonged to James's father covered the pair, hiding them from the sight of the two students they watched.

"I told you, I want to see what they're like together," James whispered, not taking his eyes off of Eva.

Fred cast a sidelong glance at Eva and Jonathan. "They're _boring_. This is the second time you've dragged me into this and all they do is study." 

"Then why did you agree to come along?"

"Because I reckon someone needs to be here in case you get it into your head to go talk to them or do something else stupid."

"I wouldn't do that!" James protested, knowing even as he said it that he most certainly would have done.

Fred's eyebrows rose towards his hairline. "Yeah? Then what do you call that incident at the Three Broomsticks where you walked up to them and asked if they were on a date?"

James scowled at the memory of seeing Eva out with another bloke. "I wanted to know, all right?"

"You were the one who said you wanted to be subtle, and then you came right out and asked!"

"Plans changed," James defended his actions. Okay, it hadn't exactly been a subtle move on his part, but he'd wanted to know. At the very least, he was fairly certain that Grant knew he had competition.

"That's something _I_ would do. It's a pretty sorry day when I'm being the rational one, mate."

Godric, wasn't that the truth? Ever since the day that he had come to the realization that he fancied Eva Wood, James had rather felt as though his life was all at sixes and sevens.

"Shh," James took an Extendable Ear from the pocket of his robes and inserted one end into his ear. The other end wiggled across the floor, getting as close to the couple as he dared let it.

"They're not even talking," Fred pointed out, sweeping his arm in their direction. "They're just sitting there being boring like they have for the last quarter of an hour."

"They have to speak eventually," James reasoned. "They can't just sit there in silence all night."

Eva and Jonathan always chatted a bit, even if it wasn't exactly thrilling. As hard as he tried, James just couldn't figure out what it was they saw in each other. He knew there was that whole thing about opposites attracting, but this didn't seem so much like opposites as simply incompatible. He had some experience of his own in this area. He and his first real girlfriend hadn't had much in common (most damning, of course, was the fact that she didn't properly appreciate Quidditch).

"Is this going to become a habit of yours? Planning espionage missions to the library to spy on Eva?"

"Espionage? Really?"

"You'd prefer spying?" Fred offered.

James thought about it. No, he didn't really want to think of this as spying, exactly, even though that was most definitely what it was.

"What do you care if I want to see how they are together?" James challenged.

"C'mon mate…" Fred said wearily. "This is because of what she said after the Ravenclaw-Hufflepuff match, isn't it?"

James stiffened, thinking back to those moments in the Quidditch stands. He had been pushing Eva about Grant not being right for her, and he had pushed too hard. He shouldn't have done it. He knew that then and he knew it now. Everyone had been telling Eva that she and Grant didn't work and she'd reached a breaking point.

" _Maybe I like him because he's nothing like you."_

He nearly flinched again at the mere remembrance of her biting words.

"I just need to know," he told Fred.

"James," Fred said seriously, placing a hand on his shoulder and forcing them to look eye to eye. "I don't think she meant it. You know how she gets."

James nodded. He did know, all too well.

"I was there too, remember? I saw the look on her face after you left. She—"

"Shh," James waved a hand to signal for quiet.

Both boys were silent for a moment, listening.

"They're talking about Herbology," Fred stated the obvious.

"Shh!"

Fred made a face. "My legs are tired from crouching like this." He extended his legs out in front of them.

Several minutes later, nothing had changed, and the discussion remained firmly on Herbology schoolwork.

James turned towards his cousin. " _What_ does Eva see in him?"

Fred shrugged helplessly, obviously just as confused as he felt himself.

Then, _finally_ , the conversation turned to something that wasn't schoolwork and essays.

"Are you coming to the match on Saturday?" Eva's voice came loud and clear through the Extendable Ear.

"I hadn't planned on it, why?" was Grant's idiotic reply.

 _Thud._

James looked wildly around for the source of the noise, afraid their position would be given away. A large book that had been sticking out from one of the shelves due to its size was now lying on the ground at Fred's feet. Or where Fred's feet would be had they not been invisible.

"Sorry," Fred said sheepishly, looking down at the book. "I knocked into it."

"We're invisible, not undetectable!" James hissed. "Oh, _brilliant_ , now you've done it."

Madam Pince, the strict and vulture-like librarian had heard the noise and come rushing over to investigate.

James hastily leaned over and picked the surprising heavy book up and held it close to his body under the cloak, rendering it invisible. He and Fred both held their breath as Madam Pince peered down each row looking for the source of the noise. For a split second, she looked directly at James but then turned away as some students a few tables away laughed loudly.

On the other side of the bookshelves, the conversation between Eva and Grant had paused while Madam Pince walked by, but now resumed as she moved on.

James let out a breath of relief and carefully placed the book flat on top of another row of books so that it couldn't be knocked over again. That was the last thing they needed, to draw attention to this area again.

"Gryffindor is playing Hufflepuff," Eva said, with an edge of disbelief in her voice.

James couldn't help but smirk. Idiot Grant, not realizing that his girlfriend was actually playing in this match, let alone that it would be important to her. Godric, how little did Grant know about Quidditch anyway?

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that you were playing. I assumed that Hufflepuff was playing because one of my dorm mates is on the team and he's been gone more often than usual, but I didn't know that Gryffindor was playing as well."

Fred and James exchanged looks of utter disbelief. How did someone manage to be thick enough not to notice an impending Quidditch match? It was all anyone was talking about, after all.

" _Really_?" Fred mouthed and shot a look of revulsion in Grant's direction.

"I was hoping that you would come," Eva continued. Her voice was even, but as often as James rowed with her, he could tell that this was due to self-control. She sounded just the same when he was egging her on, trying to get a rise out of her, and she was trying to resist snapping back.

"I suppose I could. One match wouldn't kill me," Grant conceded. "My friends usually attend, so I can sit with them."

"One match?!" James whispered to Fred. "He's a rubbish boyfriend. What kind of selfish prat doesn't attend all of his girlfriend's matches?"

"That would be great," Eva replied, the edge still present in her voice.

"I meant to tell you earlier, um…I think your hair looks really pretty today."

James rolled his eyes in disgust. Grant was clearly trying to make up for his failure to care in the slightest about Quidditch. Too little, too late in James's opinion.

"Oh, thanks," came Eva's reply, her voice sounding surprised yet genuinely pleased.

James scowled at this.

He and Fred sat listening for several more minutes, but heard nothing but silence and the occasional comment about their respective essays.

"Your bleeding elbow's in my face again," James gave Fred what he thought was a light shove, but apparently Fred hadn't been braced well, because he knocked into the bookshelves behind them causing a soft thump.

Both boys froze, but when no one seemed to notice the noise they relaxed.

"C'mon, we've got that Herbology essay to finish too," Fred reminded James. "And you know Neville will rat us out to our parents if we turn in something we write over breakfast."

"The delights of having your professor be friends with your parents," James sarcastically observed. "Can't get away with anything."

They carefully stood up and walked a few rows away before removing the invisibility cloak. James hastily stowed the cloak in his bag.

Settling down a table on the other side of the library, the two boys spread out their books and parchment in preparation of starting their essays. Fred got to work as diligently as was possible for him, but James found his attention wandering.

"You need to stop this."

His attention was sharply drawn back to his cousin, who was giving him an all-too-knowing look. Instead of denying it, James dropped his quill and ran a hand through his hair.

"Look,…" he exhaled loudly and tried to mentally pull himself together. "This jealousy…it's…I've as good as told her how I feel and she's so oblivious that she didn't even notice. But I'm mad about her and I know that if I could just have a chance…. I'm going to fight for her."

"You're going to try and steal her away from Grant?" Fred's voice was full of surprise.

"What kind of Gryffindor do you take me for?" James asked, highly affronted at the idea that he would be so utterly lacking in chivalry and honor that he would stoop to actively sabotaging Eva's relationship.

"You said – " Fred began, but James cut across him.

"Not outright stealing."

"Oh, so you're going to take a leaf out of the Slytherin's books, then. That's even better." Fred's voice was heavy with sarcasm.

"Don't be daft," James replied snarkily. "I'm just going to be me."

Fred gave him an appraising stare that James didn't much like. "All right, fine, enlighten me. What does on earth does that mean? _Just you_."

James waved an arm in the vague direction of Eva and Jonathan across the library. "You said it yourself – they're boring!"

"Yeah, so are a lot of people. What does this have to do with winning over Eva? And how exactly do you intend to fight for the girl by 'just being you'?"

"Haven't figured that out quite yet," James admitted h \somewhat sheepishly. Perhaps that was something he should work on.

Fred threw up his hands in exasperation. "Well, this plan is a bit rubbish, isn't it?"

"Maybe fighting for her isn't the right way to put it," James said, mulling the phrase over in his mind. "It's more like…like…I'm not giving up on her. Grant isn't right for her, not by a long shot. He doesn't support her playing Quidditch. He doesn't understand how important it is to her. He doesn't argue with her. He doesn't challenge her."

"You still might want a plan. Oh, and in case you've forgotten, you've been ignoring her lately because she was a right cow to you."

"Then that's the first part of the plan," James decided. "I'm going to stop ignoring her and talk to her."

"Then what?"

"Be there. Be the alternative of what she could have. The one who does support her playing Quidditch, the one who respects her talent, the one who makes her laugh, the one who challenges her and argues with her. Because I'm _nothing_ like Jonathan Grant."

"Except for the fact that you fancy the same girl."

"Except for that," James grudgingly acknowledged.

"Ah, meddling and drama – what would our lives be without it?" Fred stretched his arms up over his head. "Godric, I'm still cramped from crouching like that."

"Me too." One of his feet was still partially asleep. "These floors could really do with carpeting."

"Well, did you learn anything from all of this?"

James thought for a moment. "Eva and Grant can't last. You saw how he was about Quidditch and how she responded. I just need to be patient."

Fred rolled his eyes and said sarcastically, "Oh well, that's good patience is your forte."

"I'm a Seeker, aren't I?" James countered. "I can be patient."

"Your strategy up until now has been to annoy her and flirt with her so clumsily that you end up insulting her at nearly every turn."

"Which sounds remarkably like your ridiculous strategy for winning over a certain sixth year," James pointed out.

Godric, now that he thought of it, what in the world was he doing taking advice about girls from Fred? Al would have been the better person to ask, although he had his own problems concerning the girl he fancied.

Fred acted as though James had not spoken. "Well, one thing's for certain, if you're going to keep this up, you need to work on your espionage skills."

James was about to reply when Al walked by, clearly on his way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts section.

"Oi, Al!" Fred called, motioning the younger boy over.

"I'm not used to seeing you here, Fred," Al commented with a smile.

"Oh, I'm not really here for schoolwork," Fred quickly explained. "James here wrangled me into helping him conduct espionage concerning Eva."

"Espionage?"

Fred shrugged nonchalantly. "We decided it sounded better than outright spying."

Al's expression suggested that he didn't quite agree with this assessment. "That seems a bit dodgy."

"That's what I said."

"Yeah, you put up a serious fight," James snorted, miffed at Fred's insinuation that he had been strong-armed into this.

Fred ignored this comment altogether.

"You do know how cross Eva's going to be if she ever finds out, yeah?" Al asked with a worried expression. "You've seen her when she's angry."

Godric had he ever. The way her cheeks flushed pink and the way her blue eyes blazed magnificently. He had actually been known to start rows with her on purpose just to witness her reaction.

"You've helped him spy on her before," Fred pointed out.

Al looked highly uncomfortable. "Yeah, I did, and I regret it. It's an invasion of her privacy. You need to stop."

James knew that. He did. It was the jealously that drove him. The worry that she would never really get to know him. The misery of his unrequited feelings.

The other night as he and Fred were making their way back to the Common Room after detention, they had come upon Eva and Jonathan kissing in the corridor. Fred had approached the couple and taken the mickey out of them. James had hidden underneath the invisibility cloak feeling like the bottom had fallen out of his stomach.

He nodded in agreement, looking down at the table. "I know."

He was invading Eva's privacy and if she ever found out she'd be livid. James wouldn't blame her either.

"I need to get what I came over here for," Al said, motioning to the bookshelves. "Rose and – Rose is waiting for me. You know how she gets about books."

Did he ever.

Once Al was gone, Fred sighed. "Is this the end of our espionage, then?"

"You sound disappointed," James observed. Hadn't Fred spent this entire evening alternatively whinging and teasing him about this very subject?

Fred merely shrugged. "You have to admit, it was kind of laugh. So what's the new plan, then?"

James hadn't thought that far ahead. Gryffindor plans tended to be rather spur-of-the-moment in nature.

"Same as before, I reckon," he said. "Just be me and hope that she notices."

"You know," Fred said thoughtfully, "before your last row, things were actually pretty good between you two."

His progress with Eva _had_ been looking up, and that was part of what made this latest setback so bleeding difficult. He and Eva were on first name terms. He had almost thought that they were friends. Now he wasn't sure where things stood between them.

"Maybe the plan was working after all?" James wondered out loud. He wanted more than friendship, of course, but he did enjoy Eva's company. As far as he was concerned, the recent times they had spent talking without rowing had been brilliant.

To his confusion, Fred suddenly laughed out loud.

"Sorry, I was just remembering Grant not knowing that there was a Quidditch match this Saturday," he explained, pretending of wipe away a tear of mirth. "How does the bloke dating Eva _not_ know something like that? _Godric_."

"He probably doesn't know a Quaffle from a Bludger," James laughed as well.

He couldn't figure out what those two talked about besides schoolwork. During the few times he'd listened in on their conversations, he hadn't come to any conclusions. Eva Wood, the girl who lived and breathed Quidditch was dating a bloke who didn't like the sport, and didn't care to understand it.

"Maybe you should point that out to her?" Fred suggested with a laugh. "It sounds like the sort of mad thing you'd do."

James had to admit to himself that there was some truth to that statement.

"Maybe I'll wait until she's speaking to me again."

"Let me know what she says."

There was a long pause.

"Thanks," James said, breaking the silence. He didn't have to say what for; he knew that his cousin understood.

Fred shot him a grin. "What are best mates and cousins for? And for the record, I think you two would make a good couple if you could stop putting your foot in your mouth. Same goes for her, now that I think on it."

In that case, the odds of Eva ever fancying him were slim to none. If he could ever properly be himself around her, perhaps he'd stand a chance. Unfortunately, he seemed perpetually unable to have a conversation with her that didn't involve accidental insults or arguing about Quidditch minutiae.

Fred looked down at the parchment in front of him. "I don't want to write this poxy essay."

"Then you can explain that to Uncle George and Aunt Angelina when Neville sends them an owl telling them how you're not turning in your assignments."

Not that he particularly wanted to work on this essay either, but he wanted a reprimanding letter from home even less.

"Well," Fred said, pretending to raise a glass out towards James, "here's to the espionage antics of James Potter and Fred Weasley. Hopefully some good comes out of all this. Cheers!"

James raised an imaginary glass to Fred and pretended to click them together. "To our antics. Cheers."

"If this all works out someday, can I be the best man at your wedding?"

"How about I stop ignoring her first before you start planning our wedding?" James wryly suggested, sharpening his quill with his penknife. "Besides, what in the name of Merlin's pants makes you think I'd ever let you get up in front of a crowd of people and give a best man's speech?"

"I'd give a brilliant speech!" Fred protested even as he smirked. "I know Al is your brother and all, but he doesn't like public speaking. Just think on it."

"I think I'll stick to talking to her without rowing first," James replied.

"Spoilsport," Fred grinned mischievously.

James merely shook his head and picked up where he had left off on his Herbology essay. Now all he had to do was talk to Eva without it turning into an argument.

 _Oi._

 **The End**

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The events of this oneshot correspond with the events of Chapter 14 of Game On, but events from Chapter 12 are mentioned.

A special thanks to my beta, _blue and gold_ , for the helpful suggestions and fabulous beta abilities.

 **Thoughts? Comments? Questions? Favorite quotes? I'd love to hear what you thought!**


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